Funeral held for two Lebanese youths found slain
{{date|April 27, 2007}}
{{Lebanon}}
[[Lebanon|Lebanese]] mourners held a funeral on Friday for two [[w:Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslims]] slain this week in an attack linked to sectarian tensions.

The two Lebanese youths were abducted on Monday, and their bodies were later found on the field on Thursday. Ziad Qabalan, age 25, and Ziad Ghandour, age 12, were kidnapped and shot in the head and their bodies. Police found the two lying dead in a field in Jadra, an area between south [[:w:Beirut|Beirut]] and [[:w:Sidon|Sidon]] on Thursday evening.

Qabalan had been a member, along with Ghandour's father, of the pro-government [[w:Progressive Socialist Party|Progressive Socialist Party]] (PSP), led by the [[:w:Druze|Druze]] leader [[:w:Walid Jumblatt|Walid Jumblatt]]. It is suspected that [[w:Shia Islam|Shi'a Muslims]] abducted the boys in revenge of the killing of Adnan Shamas, a Shi'a Muslim, back on January 25 of this year, during clashes between supporters of the government, which has Sunni backing, and the opposition, which includes Lebanon's main Shi'a groups.

The Lebanese Prime Minister, [[:w:Fouad Siniora|Fouad Siniora]], condemned the assassination and asked for calm. In a telephone interview with the [[w:Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation|Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation]] (LBC) he said,

{{cquote|This act aims at dragging the Lebanese toward civil strife. We are in need of calm, patience and discipline.}}

==Sources==
*{{source|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/FBBF6299-247D-40ED-95BF-4AC9B41EEA16.htm
|title=Lebanese killed in attack buried|author= 
|pub=Al Jazeera English
|date=April 27, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=81798
|title=Police find bodies of missing youths, step up security measures in Beirut
|author=Rym Ghazal 
|pub=Daily Star (Lebanon)
|date=April 27, 2007}}
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[[Category:Politics and conflicts]]
[[Category:Lebanon]]
[[Category:Asia]]
[[Category:Beirut]]
[[category:Lebanon]]
[[category:Middle East]]
[[Category:Sunni Islam]]
[[Category:Shia Islam]]
Lebanese mourners held a funeral on Friday for two Sunni Muslims slain this week in an attack linked to sectarian tensions.

The two Lebanese youths were abducted on Monday, and their bodies were later found on the field on Thursday. Ziad Qabalan, age 25, and Ziad Ghandour, age 12, were kidnapped and shot in the head and their bodies. Police found the two lying dead in a field in Jadra, an area between south Beirut and Sidon on Thursday evening.

Qabalan had been a member, along with Ghandour's father, of the pro-government Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), led by the Druze leader Walid Jumblatt. It is suspected that Shi'a Muslims abducted the boys in revenge of the killing of Adnan Shamas, a Shi'a Muslim, back on January 25 of this year, during clashes between supporters of the government, which has Sunni backing, and the opposition, which includes Lebanon's main Shi'a groups.

The Lebanese Prime Minister, Fouad Siniora, condemned the assassination and asked for calm. In a telephone interview with the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC) he said,

category:Lebanon
category:Middle East
Politics and conflicts Lebanon Asia Beirut Sunni Islam Shia Islam